Obama Passively Watched while Americans Died
October 23, 2012
Mark Steyn and former Assistant Secretary of Defense Bing West review the timeline of September 11th, 2012. Like so many couch potatoes, the Obama administration sat back and watched the attack live on TV; they could have sent help, but did nothing.
West:
Our diplomats fought for seven hours without any aid from outside the country. Four Americans died while the Obama national-security team and our military passively watched and listened. The administration is being criticized for ignoring security needs before the attack and for falsely attributing the assault to a mob. But the most severe failure has gone unnoticed: namely, a failure to aid the living.
Steyn:
When something bad happens at a consulate on the other side of the world, very few nations have the technological capability to watch it in real time.
Even fewer have fighter jets and special forces within less than 500 miles — or about the distance from Boston to Washington.
Yet the commander-in-chief chose to do nothing.
Enjoyment and Contemplation 
October 23, 2012 at 3:02 PM
I’m unclear: did they “send no aid”, or did they “launch an aircraft from Tripoli carrying 22 men?”
October 23, 2012 at 4:00 PM
If you’re willing to attribute that decision to the president, do you think that makes him look better, or worse?
“. . . the embassy in Tripoli launched an aircraft carrying 22 men. Benghazi was 400 miles away.”
“The U.S. military base in Sigonella, Sicily, was 480 miles away from Benghazi. Stationed at Sigonella were Special Operations Forces, transport aircraft, and attack aircraft — a much more formidable force than 22 men from the embassy.”
“The fight began at 10 p.m. and petered out at dawn when the Libyan militia came to the aid of the Americans.”
In other words, he was aware our men were under attack and needed help, but didn’t send nearly enough help to win the battle?
Or, if you meant to split hairs about word usage, Mr. West said, “The U.S. military sent no aid.” It is my understanding that those 22 from Tripoli were contractors, not American military personnel—which, of course, is part of what created this problem in the first place.
October 23, 2012 at 4:52 PM
Are you suggesting that you have enough information and expertise about the specific intelligence and options available to the president at the time this was happening to definitively assert that “Obama passively watched while Americans died.” If so, what information do you have that I don’t?
October 25, 2012 at 6:50 PM
There is no excuse for what happened to Chris Stevens. The White House had been receiving word for months that Al Qaeda was right down the street flying their flags within the city. The Consulate had been bombed twice before, the employees of the Consulate had repeatedly notified Washington of the danger in the months, weeks, and days prior to the attack. Chris Stevens had even signed a cable expressing his concerns (again), hours before he was murdered.
October 26, 2012 at 9:16 AM
I agree that more should have been done; even President Obama himself has admitted that. But that’s much different than Chillingworth’s unfounded assertion that President Obama watched people die on a live feed and did nothing. Given the grave risk from terrorist threats all over the world, security failures are inevitable. If you remember, George Bush had warning of the 9/11 attacks months in advance and did nothing. Of course you will never hear Chillingworth mention that, because that would disrupt his biased narrative.
October 29, 2012 at 2:18 PM
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